Identification Features

• Bark: Silvery green-grey then silvery grey with a touch of purple. Later becomes cracked, then dulls to brown as becomes more deeply fissured. Grooves are typically spiralled up the trunk.
• Twigs: Start off grey-brown, can be green towards tip. Later, thicker twigs are green-grey.
• Buds: Few scales; hairless; Red-brown to green; Ovoid, pointed.

Description/General Character:
Will grow into a very large tree if not coppiced. Often slender for a big tree, tapering towards the top. In woodland, it will develop a very tall, straight trunk.

Range:
Much of mainland Europe, particularly Mediterranean. East to Turkey, south to North Africa. Frequently planted and sometimes naturalised. Planted and coppiced for timber in the south of England.

Habitat:
Woods, does particularly well on acid soils.

Other Observations:
Trees often develop basal shoots.